Rehabilitation and compensation of wrongfully imprisoned persons

Project date range: 2015 - 2017

Description

Imprisonments are a substantial intervention in basic human rights. They often involve severe consequences for those imprisoned, especially if the judgment is reversed in a retrial.

While a certain amount of international criminological research focuses on the topic of “wrongful convictions” there is still a gap in German research which the current study is attempting to close.

The study is restricted to all German cases of successful retrials occurring since 1990 in which the convicted person served a sentence of imprisonment.

Intensive analysis of the relevant court files as well as interviews with criminal justice experts and those wrongfully convicted can give insight into problems and difficulties of the proceedings. Additionally, it identifies wishes and needs of those wrongfully convicted with regard to governmental support.

The research report summarizes the findings of the analysis concerning with respect to the current state of compensation and rehabilitation of those persons in question.

Publications

Leuschner, Fredericke & Hoffmann, Anika (2016). Der Umgang des Staates mit Fehlern der Justiz. Neue Kriminalpolitik, 28 (2016), 2,  p. 155-171.

Hoffmann, Anika & Leuschner, Fredericke. Rehabilitation und Entschädigung nach Vollstreckung einer Freiheitsstrafe und erfolgreicher Wiederaufnahme. (BM-Online ; Bd. 11). Wiesbaden: KrimZ. ISBN 978-3-945037-19-5 (Online-Publikation)

Contact
Fredericke Leuschner